The Tyre Dispatch Inspection Dataset
About the dataset
Every record is one physical tyre, documented once. Tyres reach the workshop through normal trade: our team replaces 150 or more tyres every week, and 50 to 100 of them are fully documented into the archive, so the dataset grows every week without any selection by condition. The result spans the whole real-world range, from new stock at full depth to tyres worn through to the cords.
Under the current protocol a single tyre can carry more than 40 photo slots, a tread-sweep video, multi-point tread depth measurements, around 30 structured defect categories, certification and marking transcriptions, an operator screening verdict and free-text inspection notes. Every retrospectively completed field carries a provenance marker, so the origin of every value is knowable.
The archive is not a scrape and not a composite: one operator, one workshop, one documented method. Published research is already built on it, including The Workshop Tyre Report: First 1,500 Inspections and the studies indexed on the Tyre Research Hub.
Capture setup and calibration
Every tyre is photographed with a standardised, repeatable protocol designed for downstream computer-vision use, so the archive works as training data, not just as internal records.
iPhone 17 Pro Max with LiDAR
Primary capture device. The integrated LiDAR scanner is a time-of-flight sensor capable of recording sub-millimetre depth alongside the standard RGB image.
LiDAR capture is offered on request as a service: depth maps and point-cloud exports (PLY or OBJ) can be produced for selected tyres from the next capture onward. The standard archive holds RGB photos and video.
Calibration block
A multi-component calibration block appears in frame on every record from entry 625 onward: first placed beside the tyre and, from entry 639, fixed in a consistent position on the upper shoulder, clear of the tread face. Stepped sections of known millimetre depth give a physical reference scale that any tread depth in the same frame can be measured against.
The reverse side carries a checkerboard that faces the camera in the tread-front view. The block is 3D printed at a 0.2 mm nozzle with 0.08 mm layers, so the checkerboard geometry is known to sub-millimetre ground truth, giving a fiducial for perspective correction, scale calibration and training pipelines.
Standardised shot protocol
Each tyre receives the same fixed set of shots: top-down tread, central groove close-up, both shoulders, both sidewalls (DOT and brand/spec sides), digital depth-gauge readings, wear-indicator bump and sidewall marker, plus dedicated close-ups for every legible marking.
A tread-sweep video pans across the tread face and back at the front-shot distance, capturing pattern continuity and localised wear that point shots might miss; walk-around, quick-scan and distance-calibration clips exist on several hundred records.
Database snapshot
A fixed snapshot of the whole archive taken 29 July 2026. The totals at the top of the page refresh weekly; these distributions are refreshed on request.
Tread depth distribution
Top brands documented
Country of manufacture
What each record can carry
The schema slot exists for every field below; coverage varies by capture era and by what is physically present and legible on the tyre.
Structured data fields
- Brand, model, model variant, exact size with modifier flags (P-metric, ZR, run-flat, C, LT, XL)
- Country of manufacture, full DOT date code (week and year, with close-up shot)
- Speed rating, load index (single or dual), max load, max pressure, ply rating, groove count
- UTQG ratings (treadwear, traction, temperature) and EU label data where physically present
- E-mark with approving state, plus CCC, SNI, BIS, TIS, BPS, KC, BSMI, INMETRO, GCC
- OE fitment markings (MO, AO, N-spec, BMW star, JLR, VOL and others)
- Marking flags: M+S, 3PMSF, four-season, run-flat family, EV, eco, tubeless, rim protector, acoustic liner, retread
- Direction markings, bead-area markings, barcode condition
- Multi-point tread depth: minimum, average and individual gauge readings
- Around 30 defect categories across wear, structural, internal, puncture and repair, and age groups, each with an impact flag
- Operator screening verdict (pass, borderline, fail) and overall condition grade
- Capture conditions, vehicle context, removal reason, customer feedback codes
- Free-form inspector notes, with extended diagnostic notes on hundreds of entries
Media views per record
- Primary catalogue shots, twelve under the current protocol: DOT sidewall, non-DOT sidewall, tread front, tread close-up, tread close-up left half, tread close-up right half, left shoulder, left shoulder close-up, left shoulder side shot, right shoulder, right shoulder close-up, right shoulder side shot (the first six of these on every record before entry 1,187)
- Up to 36 sidewall close-up slots: brand, symbol, model, size text, load and speed, sub-codes, certifications, country stamp, markings
- Depth documentation: digital gauge readings, wear-indicator bump close-up, indicator versus gauge, sidewall TWI marker
- Calibration-block frames with known step depths and checkerboard fiducial
- Video: a tread sweep across the face on most records (1,189 so far), with walk-around, quick-scan and distance-calibration clips on several hundred more
- Coin depth references on a set of earlier records
Integrity
- One physical tyre per record, documented once, never rescanned
- Record purpose on every entry (removal, new stock, on-vehicle check)
- Provenance markers on every retrospectively completed field
- Published, self-checking research reports built on the same data
Sample records
Four real records: two from the original six-shot protocol and two from the current twelve-shot protocol that applies from entry 1,187 onward. The tread and shoulder sets are shown here; each record also carries sidewall, marking and measurement close-ups beyond what is displayed. Preview images are cropped and reduced for display; full-resolution originals are supplied under licence.
Hifly HF201, 205/70R14
Tread front
Tread close
Shoulder left
Shoulder right
Sidewall (DOT)
Sidewall (non-DOT)
Dunlop Enasave RV504, 215/65R16
Tread front
Tread close
Shoulder left
Shoulder right
Sidewall (DOT)
Sidewall (non-DOT)
Anchee Titan ACF01, 205/55ZRF16
Tread front
Tread close
Shoulder left
Shoulder right
Sidewall (DOT)
Sidewall (non-DOT)
Tread close left
Tread close right
Shoulder left close
Shoulder left profile
Shoulder right close
Shoulder right profile
Hankook Ventus S1 Noble2, 255/50R20
Tread front
Tread close
Shoulder left
Shoulder right
Sidewall (DOT)
Sidewall (non-DOT)
Tread close left
Tread close right
Shoulder left close
Shoulder left profile
Shoulder right close
Shoulder right profile
Zeta Alventi, 205/45ZR17
Sidewall text as machine-readable data
DOT close-up · stored: week 13, 2026
Size text · stored: 205/55ZRF16
UTQG · stored: 480 / A / A
Load and pressure text · stored: 615 kg at 300 kPa
Defect documentation
Around 30 defect categories are tagged with an impact flag and photographed in multiples, usually three to five images per defect. One example photograph per category below; the counts show how much sits behind each card. The wear-signature categories from our published research are included below. Preview images are cropped and reduced for display; full-resolution originals are supplied under licence.
Evaluation samples
Richer sample packs are available on request under evaluation terms: multiple complete records spanning the depth, brand, country and tyre-type range from near-new 4WD mud-terrain to bald budget touring, a breadth library of tread faces across the full wear scale, detailed per-pattern wear progressions, further tread-sweep videos, coin depth references across patterns, and LiDAR depth maps or point clouds captured for selected tyres.
Custom capture is also available: because 50 to 100 tyres are documented every week, the protocol can be extended with additional views, targets or measurements for a licensing partner from the next tyre onward.
Licensing options
Four packages drawn from the same archive, each supplied as image and label pairs. Every field below is checked on every documented tyre; where a marking is not present on the tyre, that is recorded too.
OCR and markings set
Sidewall close-up slots paired with the transcribed value for every marking zone:
- Brand lettering, brand symbol, model and sub-model or variant lettering
- Size text, large and small stampings, with modifier flags: LT, C, P-metric, ZR, ZRF, RF, XL
- Load index (single and dual) and speed rating
- Full DOT date code, week and year
- Manufacturing sub-codes on both the DOT and non-DOT sides
- Country of manufacture stamp
- UTQG treadwear, traction and temperature
- Max load and max pressure text, tread and sidewall ply composition text
- E-mark with approving state, plus CCC, SNI, BIS, TIS, BPS, KC, BSMI, INMETRO and GCC certification stamps, including certification numbers and QR codes where moulded
- OE fitment markings: MO, MO1, MOE, AO, AO1, RO1, BMW star, N-spec, JLR, VOL, T-spec, HN, AR, MGT
- Run-flat markings: RFT, ROF, ZP, SSR, RSC, EMT
- M+S, 3PMSF snowflake, four-season, EV designation, eco and efficiency symbols
- Tubeless, rim protector, acoustic liner and retread markings
- Direction markings: OUTSIDE, INSIDE, rotation arrows
- Sidewall wear-indicator (TWI) position markers
- EU tread label stickers where present on unfitted stock
- Bead-area markings: yellow and red dots, white marks, moulded bead stamps, barcode labels
Tread depth set
Tread and shoulder imagery paired with measured depth and wear labels:
- Tread front and tread close-up, with dedicated left-half and right-half close-ups
- Left and right shoulders, each with a close-up and a side profile
- Digital gauge reading photographs, wear-indicator close-up, and indicator versus gauge
- Multi-point gauge measurements with recorded minimum and average depth
- Wear classification per tyre: even, under-inflation, over-inflation, one-sided, and mixed patterns
- Overall condition grade and operator screening verdict
- Calibration block in frame from entry 625, in a consistent position from entry 639
- Tread-sweep video on most records
- Coin depth references on a set of earlier records
- Ships with each entry’s details: brand, model, size, measured depths, defects detected, pattern direction and pattern type; further fields on request
Defect set
Defect photographs in multiples, three to five images per defect, each tagged with an impact flag of fail, warning or info. Categories:
- Wear: shoulder wear, centre wear, one-sided wear, uneven wear, cupping, feathering, under-inflation signs, over-inflation signs
- Age and surface: cracking tread, cracking sidewall, perishing tread, perishing sidewall, dry rot
- Structural: wire showing at shoulder or centre, belt separation, bulge in tread, bulge in sidewall, runflat damage
- Damage: sidewall cut, hole in tread, shoulder or sidewall, bead damage, bead seating issues
- Punctures and repairs: nail or object present, previous repairs documented outside and inside
- Internal: liner damage, rubber crumb inside the casing, contamination
- Ships with each entry’s details: brand, model, size, measured depths, pattern direction and pattern type; further fields on request
Available standalone or as an add-on to the tread depth set.
Custom dataset
Any combination of the sets above, scoped and structured to your needs: filtered by brand, size, depth range, defect class, condition or capture era, delivered in the format your pipeline expects.
Requirements beyond the standard protocol can be added for a licensing partner and captured from the next tyre onward.
Licensing the dataset
The dataset, measurements and photographs are the exclusive property of Taylor Houghton, all rights reserved. Images and structured labels can be licensed for machine-learning training and evaluation, research, and editorial use, with terms set per project.
To request an evaluation sample or discuss licensing, email email@tyredispatch.co.nz with a note on your intended use.
Research built on this dataset
